Dub vs rs-short
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted url shorteners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Dub
Open-source link management platform
VS
rs-short
Lightweight link shortener written in Rust, with features such as
| Feature | Dub | rs-short |
|---|---|---|
| Category | URL Shorteners | URL Shorteners |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 24,245 | — |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Bitly, Rebrandly | — |
Why pick each one
Choose rs-short if…
- Released under the MPL-2.0 license
- Written in Rust
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Dub or rs-short better?
Neither is universally better. Dub has the larger community, while rs-short is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dub and rs-short free and open-source?
Yes. Dub is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and rs-short under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dub and rs-short with Docker?
Dub: yes. rs-short: check the project docs for container support.